The 10 Biggest Reveals From Star Wars Celebration Orlando

The Star Wars Celebration is a mecca for fans of the franchise, and the recent outing in Orlando was one of the biggest ever. In order to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the saga, SWCO was packed with some amazing guests from all three eras. e.g. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Hayden Christensen, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and many others. As always, the Celebration promised to drop some major reveals about upcoming projects in the Star Wars franchise across the board, from movies to TV shows to video games to amusement parks. Thankfully, it didn't disappoint. There were epic trailers aplenty, announcements for new, exciting projects and loads of interesting factoids that came out of the various panels. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend for fans. Luckily for you, we've gathered the biggest reveals from Star Wars Celebration all together in one place. With everything that came out of the convention, we've been reminded that there's probably never been a better time to be a lover of Star Wars, and the following 10 reveals certainly solidify that fact. 10) There Is Only One Last Jedi A question that's been bugging fans since the reveal that Episode VIII would be called The Last Jedi is who exactly the title refers to. Does it refer to a singular Jedi or a bunch of them? The mystery of it's resulted in no end of fan theorizing and analysis. It turns out that, er, we might have been over-thinking it. Director Rian Johnson admitted during the panel for The Last Jedi that he'd never considered the title to be enigmatic or mysterious. For him, it was obvious what it meant and who it referred to. "It's so funny when people started asking that. I had never even pondered that question," said Johnson. "In my mind, it's singular. In my mind it is. ... As to whether Luke is the 'Last Jedi,' they say in The Force Awakens he's going to find the last Jedi temple and Luke is the last Jedi." 9) Luke Skywalker Is "Significantly Important" To The Last Jedi After his cameo in the closing moments of The Force Awakens, Luke Skywalker will properly return to the Star Wars saga for the first time in 34 years in The Last Jedi. Given that, we hoped that the franchise's former protagonist would have a major role in the movie. Thankfully, that was confirmed at SWCO during The Last Jedi panel, where we learned that Luke would be "so significantly important" to the film. This makes sense as we know that Luke will train Rey in the ways of the Jedi in TLJ. It seems, however, that he won't be a particularly accommodating mentor, as Daisy Ridley hinted that Luke won't turn out to be what her character expects: "Rey has a certain expectation as to what she might be getting from Luke and what that might entail. And as a lot of people might know, it's difficult when you meet your heroes because it might not be what you expect." Does this mean that he'll just be a bit grumpy? Or is there weight to the fan theory that Luke may turn to the dark side? 8) More Anthology Spinoffs On The Way The huge success, both commercially and critically, of Rogue One was an big boost for Disney and Lucasfilm. The movie was intended to be the first in an ongoing series of Star Wars Anthology films that would jump around the franchise's timeline and flesh out various characters and stories. Kathleen Kennedy has admitted that the fact Rogue One was such a smash hit that it's given her and the studio "more confidence" in the idea of producing additional spinoffs. So, it's a dead cert, then, that 2018's Han Solo prequel movie won't be the last in the series. There's bound to be one more to come in 2020, at least. Will this be the previously-touted Boba Fett film? Or perhaps an Obi-Wan solo adventure? It looks like we might not have too long to wait to find out, as Kennedy hinted that the next Anthology movie will be announced this summer, revealing that they're "getting close" and that they're in "the midst of discussions right now." 7) Carrie Fisher Not In Episode IX Since Carrie Fisher tragically passed away last December, Star Wars fans have been wondering what her death meant for the future of Princess Leia. We've known for a while that, thankfully, Fisher had completed work on The Last Jedi, but the character's role in 2019's Episode IX has been up in the air. SWCO, though, finally provided the answer. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed that the actress will not be in the the final instalment of the sequel trilogy. This is surprising, considering that earlier reports stated that Leia was originally intended to have a major role in the movie, but it does make sense considering the loss of Fisher. We also learnt from director Rian Johnson that Fisher - an accomplished screenwriter in her own right - aided in writing Leia's dialogue for The Last Jedi. "I connected with her first and foremost as a writer," he explained. "I'd go to her house and sit on her bed for hours, and we'd go through the script." Speaking of classic characters not appearing in these new movies, it was also confirmed that Billy Dee Williams will not be showing up as Lando Calrissian in The Last Jedi. For shame. 6) Forces Of Destiny Miniseries Star Wars has produced many a strong female character over the years, and now Lucasfilm and Disney have given these women their own miniseries to showcase their talents. Forces of Destiny will be comprised of several short episodes of about 2-3 minutes each, to be released on Disney's official YouTube channel. Each will focus on a different female character, including Rey, Jyn Erso, Princess Leia, The Clone Wars' Ahsoka Tano and Rebels' Sabine Wren. Many of the original actresses will return for the show, too, including Daisy Ridley, Felicity Hones and Lupita Nyong'o, who will narrate every episode as The Force Awakens' Maz Kanata. As well as those who love the franchise's leading ladies, Forces of Destiny will please those who like to plug gaps in continuity. Leia and Rey's stories will take place within The Empire Strikes Back and The Force Awakens while Jyn's will be set before the events of Rogue One. 5) Meet Rose During The Last Jedi panel at SWCO, we were introduced to "the biggest new part" of the movie - Rose, as played by newcomer Kelly Marie Tran. We also learned, courtesy of Tran, that Rose is a maintenance worker at the Resistance. Apparently, Johnson brought in the character to bring an "everyday hero" element to the story. "The notion that anyone out there, any one of us, can step up and turn into a hero — that’s really where the character of Rose comes from. She’s not a soldier, she’s not looking to be a hero and she gets pulled in into an adventure in this movie with Finn.” The internet has already fallen for both the actress and the sounds of her character, so let's hope she makes a suitably big impression when we finally get to see her in The Last Jedi. 4) Star Wars Rebels Ending After Season 4 The Star Wars Rebels animated series has developed quite a following over the past few years. As a follow-up to the preceding Clone Wars, Rebels follows the rebel crew of The Ghost in a period growing ever closer to the events of A New Hope. The show's fans will be heartbroken, then, that Rebels is coming to an end after its upcoming fourth season. At least there's much to look forward to about the show's final run though that should ensure it goes out with a bang. Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan Kryze will return before the series ends, while Warwick Davis voices new character Rukh, the bodyguard to Grand Admiral Thrawn. Fans will be also pleased to know that Hera will become a general, in order to tie in with her namedrop in Rogue One. 3) Star Wars Battlefront II Trailer So, we've got the movie and TV sides of the franchise covered, but what about its video games? Well, SWCO also revealed some exciting stuff in that area, too. Namely, it dropped the trailer for the much-anticipated Star Wars Battlefront II. We also learned some juicy facts about the game's story. In an effort to counter the criticism of the first entry in the rebooted series, Battlefront II will feature a single-player campaign. Set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, the campaign will introduce a brand new character - Imperial soldier Iden Versio, who leads the elite group called the Inferno Squad. For fans of the classic characters, though, you'll also be able to play as either Luke Skywalker or Kylo Ren, as well. In a nice bit of cross-media synergy, the story of the game ties in with an upcoming novel titled Inferno Squad, which is a spinoff/sequel to Rogue One. 2) Star Wars Coming To Disneyworld Disney have really made the most of Star Wars since acquiring the franchise a few years ago, but now, they're taking the final step to welcome the saga into the House of Mouse family: Star Wars is coming to Disneyworld! The plan is for Star Wars Land - that's the provisional name they're running with at the moment - to be up and running by 2019. It's promised that it'll be more of an immersive experience than just a bunch of rides. The setting will be on an "outpost planet" that's new to the Star Wars universe. Attendees will also be able to chose their own path - either by helping the Resistance, aiding and abetting smugglers and bounty hunters or even by allying with the First Order. Perhaps the most exciting feature for fans is that guests will be able to not just ride the Millennium Falcon but control it, too. So anyone who dreamed of being Han Solo when they were a kid - and, let's face it, as an adult, too - can now have their dreams come to life. 1) The Last Jedi Trailer Of course, the biggest and most exciting thing to come out of the Star Wars Celebration is the first trailer for The Last Jedi. We'd been waiting for our first glimpse at the film ever since the final moments of The Force Awakens and the first bit of footage did not disappoint. It heavily featured Rey and her Jedi training at the hands of Luke - who we finally heard speak, even if he didn't actually show his face in the trailer. It also gave us some glimpses at what the the characters will get up to in the movie - Finn, Poe, BB-8, a little of dear old Leia - and was stuffed with fan-pleasing easter eggs (Yoda, is that you we hear?). So far in the rejuvenated movie series, both The Force Awakens and Rogue One have been gifted with strong trailers and promotion that have preceded an equally awesome movie. Let's hope it's the same deal with The Last Jedi, then. Tell us, what were your favorite moments from Celebration? Sound off in the usual place and let us know!